COSTUME & PROPS WITH THEORY

Narrative Section: Girl

The girl in our video will be around ten years old, therefore, the clothing would have to be appropriate for her age.

As we are filming outside, I have chosen to include similar coats, hats and scarves that the girl will wear. The fact we are filming outside will reflect our chosen genre as it connotes realism.

I have chosen fairly girly outfits as it connotes: fun, innocence and a girly feel.

It is also Autumn, so I have chosen to incorporate clothes that will fit in with the season and the style of our music video.

Narrative Section: Man

I have also chosen outdoor clothes for the man in our video as the majority of the filming will be done outside.

I have chosen for the clothing to be fairly dark and dull colours. This is because the colours connote loss, death and isolation, which is the theme of our video.

We have chosen to ask other people to star in the video as it will be easier to direct them so that our concept can come across more clearly.

I thought a watch would be a good idea for an accessory because it symbolises time and our video will feature flashbacks of the past.

Performative Section: Man

To find a suitable outfit for the performative section, I researched similar artist’s to our chosen genre.

I found that people, such as: Ed Sheeran, wore casual clothes in the performance section of the music video. They seem to wear commonly wear shirts and incorporate a hat or accessory of some kind.

For our video, I have chosen jeans, a check shirt, hat and a watch. The colours of these clothes will be brighter in order to create a juxtaposition.

Props

Guitar – the guitar will be featured in the performance section of the music video whilst the artist is performing.

Stool – the bar stool will be used for the artist to sit on whilst he is singing in the performance section.

Polaroid's – will be used in the flashbacks, for the ‘Dad’ to look at and focus on the memories. It will feature pictures of his family.

Tea Lights – will be used in the performative section for lighting purposes. It will make the performance seem more intimate which is a common feature of that genre.

Camera – will be used in the same way as the Polaroid's.

Levi Strauss: Theory

The theory states, that in every media text there are binary oppositions, or a conflict between two opposites. The audience subsequently are aware of who they should side with, and this technique can also help create a political theme within a text. For example:

Good & Bad Rich & Poor Eastern & Western World Love & Hate ...

However, the theme of our music video is love and loss; I am going to establish the binary opposition through the use of costume and props.

For example, the scarf that the performer carries symbolises the loss of the child as he is holding the scarf to remember her by. The Polaroid's will also symbolise loss as they feature memories.

The tea lights represent love as there is an element of warmth that they connote.

The binary opposition of love and loss is also represented through the use of our chosen narrative concept. The loss is symbolised by the performer being isolated and lonely. This is also reinforced by the use of our locations; for example, the woods will emphasise the loneliness. Flashbacks will also be shown to establish what he has lost.

The love will be established through the use of the photographs, which will show loving memories. There will be a scene in our video where the performer is seen to be carrying a scarf – a token of love. Towards the end, the narrative concept will be resolved as the daughter is shown running to her Father.

The music to our video connotes sadness which will be illustrated by the visuals. The music will represent the ‘loss’, however, the lyrics ‘comfort you’ will represent the ‘love’.

As a group we have also decided to slow the pace of the walking, camera movement and some scenes in the music video. This will hopefully reinforce the binary opposition of love and loss. This is due to slow motion often being associated with sadness, where as an upbeat/fast pace is associated with happiness.

The Cultural Studies Approach to Audience:

According to Morley, audiences aren’t just passively affected by media texts – they take an active role in reading a text.

The concept of our video is quite ambiguous. The preferred reading we strongly want to get across, is that the performer has ‘lost’ someone, which audience’s are later told is the ‘child’. However, the loss is not indicated to be death, but rather a hidden meaning: separation through a failed marriage.

The audience may read certain values and interpret them to mean that the child is dead. For example, the significance of the scarf.

A preferred reading may be, that the audience would find it acceptable for such a heavy storyline to be used within a music video, however, the oppositional reading would disagree.

Barthes Theory:

Barthes was a French semiologist who identified 5 different codes by which a narrative engages the attention of the audience:

The enigma code- the audience is intrigued by the need to solve a problem

The action code – the audience is excited by the need to resolve a problem

The semantic code – the audience is directed towards an additional meaning by way of connotation

The symbolic code – the audience assumes that a character dressed in black is evil or menacing and forms expectations of his/ her behaviour on this basis

The cultural code – the audience derives meaning in a text from shared cultural knowledge about the way the world works.

The enigma code- in our video the audience will be intrigued to know what has happened to the child, the unknown will encourage the audience to watch the music video from beginning to the end.

The action code – This will apply to our video as the audience will develop different interpretations; therefore, they will be excited or intrigued to see if they are right.

The semantic code – The audience will be directed to interpret loss due to the locations and props which connote loneliness and isolation. For example, the woods, and hill will represent loneliness. The trees will also be going bare this time of year, which could also represent loss.

The symbolic code – The symbolic code will be established by the performer walking slowly through isolated places. He will not be wearing black; therefore, death is not symbolised.